Minor Misdemeanors
by Nocturnal Introvert
Summary: Seeking some thrill in their ever-boring lives in the sleepy town of Gravity Falls, Oregon; Wendy, Lee and Tambry sneak into a recently closed hospital with the crew due to the irresistible pull of a local legend, unaware of elaborate schemes going on behind the scenes.
1. Chapter 1: Suburban Exploration

"Are you guys sure we won't get caught?"

Thompson kept his hand on the keys that were still in the ignition of his mom's van, ready to start the car at any moment, his eyes flickering nervously between the huge, abandoned building and the faces of his friends in the rearview mirror. He did not want to be here. He was ready to just turn the car around and leave. He no longer cared about the bet involved, no matter how entertaining it seemed. It just didn't seem worth breaking into an abandoned hospital anymore.

"That's not what we should be worried about." Robbie replied in an eerily serious tone, turning to look toward Thompson from his spot in the passenger seat. "What we should really be watching out for are all the ghosts." A smirk spread across his face. "The place is totally unreal."

"Like how?" Tambry asked, rolling her eyes and updating her facebook status from her cell phone, not seeming at all phased by the thought of the supposedly haunted hospital.

"Trust me, it's pretty hard-core. I checked it out a few days ago. I mean, I didn't go in or anything, but...It's haunted, that's for sure." The dark-haired teen replied. He looked out the window and chuckled. "Places like this can only be worse on the inside."

"Dude, shut up. I bet it's not even that bad. You use the word 'hard-core' to describe like, everything. Let's just get this over with." Nate called from the backseat.

The van was parked on the side of the road right beside the tall, chain linked fence that had been put up to keep people like them out. The fence and signs regarding fines for trespassing didn't intimidate them. They were teenagers, and they held to the belief that they could do and get away with anything.

Once they had all filed out of the van, Robbie instantly made his way over to a hole in the fence that he had found on his previous trip.

"Nice find, dude." Wendy told him. Robbie shrugged, but grinned like an idiot at her compliment, glad his knowledge hadn't gone unnoticed.

"It's no big deal, babe." He replied.

"Get a room, you two." Nate teased, pushing past the couple and squeezing through the hole in the fence. Lee followed after him, having a bit more difficultly due to his height.

After the others had all gone inside, Thompson stood on the other side of the fence, nervously shuffling his feet. "Um-guys…I don't think I can fit." He whispered into the darkness.

"C'mon, Thompson. You scared?" Lee asked in a taunting tone.

"No, I'm way serious, you guys. There's no way I can fit through there." Thompson told them, embarrassed. "I'll just wait in the van. Go on without me."

"Aw, boo!" Wendy called after him as he made his way back to the van.

"See ya later…if we make it out alive!" Lee added.

Robbie checked over his shoulder once the others had already started walking, and saw Thompson give him a thumbs up. The night was still young, and things were going as planned so far.

* * *

Gravity Falls Community Hospital was a four story tall building on the very outskirts of town. It had been mostly for primary care needs, and had contained around eighty or so beds for inpatient use that were usually less than one-forth occupied. For mostly unknown reasons, the hospital had been shut down without much warning sometime late the previous month. Most people assumed that it was due to practicality. The neighboring town had a much larger hospital that was only a ten minute drive away with many more specialized doctors, so it made sense to transfer the patients there.

Others, specifically the town's limited supply of youth, had begun to come up with other, more far-fetched reasons for the place's closing. One such story was that the hospital was built on an old burial ground and was haunted, having to be shut down when one of the patients went insane from hearing the voices of the dead during the night. It was rather clichéd, but the teens liked to dwell on such thoughts to make the dull town seem a tiny bit more interesting.

After their previous ghost encounter, the teens seemed to be yearning for more, similar adventures. So of course they couldn't resist the thrill of the new local legend. As soon as Nate had heard about the hospital's closing, he dared Robbie to break in. The boys made a bet, and now they were going through with it. No one knew the exact terms of the bet they'd made, but judging by how the two boys were acting they all knew it had to be something interesting. Now the rest of the crew was just tagging along looking for some excitement in their ever boring lives.

"Crap. Did anyone remember to bring a flashlight?" Wendy asked as the group approached the looming, empty building. Though it had been the same place that all of them had been going for checkups and appointments for years, and just weeks before, seeing it dark and empty gave it an entirely new look.

A cool breeze ruffled through their hair, conveniently giving them a less lame excuse for chills to run down their spines. Robbie used this as a perfect opportunity to put his arm around Wendy's shoulders, though he knew it was likely that he was feeling more scared than she was.

"I did." Lee said, a thin beam of light flickering on as he spoke. He shone it up the crumbling, red brick walls and let out a quiet gasp that may have been either from amazement or fright.

"Whoa. Guys, this is totally awesome!" Nate exclaimed, high fiving the taller, blonde boy.

"We've been in there like a billion times, dudes. Chill out." Wendy laughed.

"Uh-How do we plan on getting in, anyway?" Tambry asked, the light from her phone's screen duly illuminating her face and making her passive expression seem almost haunting.

Lee aimed the flashlight at her, and then used it to look along the brick walls of the hospital. "We could check all the doors. Maybe we can bust a lock." He said.

"The hospital's only been closed for like a week, idiot." Nate reminded him, rolling his eyes. "I doubt the locks are rusting already."

Lee turned off the flashlight and shrugged at him. "Everything in this town is pretty outdated. You never know."

"Status update: checking out haunted hospital with stupid blonde." Tambry muttered, continuing to stare at her phone. After attempting to send the message, she glanced up from the screen, which was a rare event in itself, and scowled. "Ugh! There's like no service all of a sudden!" She groaned.

"Oh no, looks like you'll actually have to…" Robbie mock gasped. "converse with people in the real world!"

Wendy shrugged out from under Robbie's arm and shoved him, somewhat playfully. "Shut up. We've gotta find a way to get inside."

"Robbie's been trying to do that for months." Nate said under his breath, stifling a laugh at his own lame joke. Lee chuckled, and the two of them high fived again.

"Let's break a window." Robbie suggested, ignoring Nate's crude remark. The duo nodded in agreement.

"Hm…Maybe, but it sounds kinda risky. If we get caught and we've broken a window, isn't that like destroying public property?" Wendy asked, biting her bottom lip contemplatively. She didn't like to be a party pooper, but sometimes she needed to be the common sense of the group.

"Look, it's not like we'll get caught. People break into places like this all the time. And the cops around here aren't really good for anything anyway. Then they'll just board up the window once they find it." Robbie told her. "Plus, I plan on doing graffiti;" He took a can of spray paint out of his backpack and held it up. "So we're already vandalizing things. It'd just be adding to our list of charges." To prove his point, Robbie walked over and painted the word "BEWARE" in huge, sloppy font that was a darker red than the brick, giving the vague impression of dripping blood. "You can back out now if you wanna, but I didn't really see you as the cowardly type."

Wendy rolled her eyes, trying her hardest not to get irritated with her boyfriend. "You're being a real jerk, tonight." She muttered. "Whatever, I guess I'm up for it."

Robbie rejoined the group and tossed the can of paint back into his backpack. "Give me the flashlight." He said. Before Lee could ask any questions, Robbie snatched the flashlight from his hand and chucked it at a ground-level window. The flashlight shattered through the glass and landed noisily on the tile floor inside. Robbie walked over, kicked in the rest of the glass, and grinned at the other members of the crew. "There. That wasn't so bad."

"Nice one." Nate said, clapping him on the shoulder as he walked past and climbed into the ill-lit main hall of the hospital. Lee followed after him, finding the flashlight and then helping Tambry to avoid the piles of shattered glass. She didn't seem too enthralled by his random act of kindness.

Wendy put her hand on Robbie's shoulder before he could follow the rest of the group and glared into his eyes for a moment.

"Dude, if we make it out of here alive I'm either going to kiss you or punch you so hard." She whispered. "And ladies first, by the way." She grabbed Robbie's hand and pulled him through the window after her, not in an entirely friendly way.

"Well I certainly hope you go with the first option." He laughed, tugging at a strand of her hair with his free hand.


	2. Chapter 2: Shadow World

"Did someone grab the flashlight?" Robbie asked, squinting into the dimly lit hallway.

"Yeah, but it's not working for some reason." Lee said.

"Here, let me try." Nate took the flashlight from him and flipped the 'on/off' switch as if maybe Lee had just been doing it wrong. "Nice going, genius." He sighed, turning toward Robbie while hitting the flashlight against the palm of his hand in attempt to get it working again. "Now we get to wander around this place in the dark."

Tambry sighed. "Typical Robbie." She muttered under her breath.

They were all silent for a moment, taking in their somewhat chilling surroundings. Though they had been inside the hospital many times, it seemed so foreign now. They were used to seeing this place during the day, when it was full of light, sounds, and life. Now it was empty and silent, and only the faint smell of disinfectant struck them as familiar. The windows were like empty eye sockets staring out into the dark night. The broken window was letting in a cool breeze that fluttered through the hall and gave the faint impression of hushed, horror movie-like whispering.

Apparently it was soon enough after the hospital's closing that some of the power was still on. There was a faint red glow coming from an exit sign above a nearby door, bathing that entire half of the hall in a dim, tinted light.

"Whoa, guys. Robbie was actually right for once. It's totally unreal in here." Nate whispered, seeming awestruck.

"Unreal as in totally lame;" Tambry muttered, rolling her eyes. "it seems exactly how I remember it, only darker."

"Oh c'mon, you have no imagination, Tam." Lee told her with a smile. "I bet there could be an awesome horror movie based on this place. It'd be all silent, then suddenly BAM! Out jumps the killer! How cool would that be?"

"Totally lame..." Tambry repeated, shaking her head.

"Hey guys, speaking of horror movies, I say we split up and explore." Wendy suggested, her face alight with curiosity.

Robbie looked a bit surprised, but he nodded eagerly. "I agree. Me and Wendy can go check out the West Wing and you guys can stay in the newer part. Sound like a plan?"

The West Wing of Gravity Falls Community Hospital was even less modern than the rest of the building. Originally, the hospital in its entirety had been a Pediatrics Center. But later, when the town had some extra funds, it was decided that they needed a General Hospital and some additions were built on. The West Wing had never really seen much improvement, however. In fact, the intercom system and heating rarely worked in that part of the hospital, and it had been closed off for 'renovation' for years. Even with the extra cash, the town could hardly afford the quite small additions that they had made, so it soon became obvious that there was no hope of the renovations to ever be completed.

Lee looked skeptical. "Ha…no way, man! What if we get lost? I'll never be able find my way around here in the dark."

"Uh-oh, is somebody scared?" Robbie teased, making a babyish voice. "Pfft-you guys won't even have to go into the actually creepy part."

"Oh shut up, Robbie. The dude's not scared. He has a point." Nate said, punching Robbie lightly on the arm.

"Alright, if you guys are as brave as you say, then let's go through with our bet. Last group to chicken out and leave are the winners." Robbie said. "And the winners get to make the losers do whatever they want." He grinned and then looked at one person in specific, mouthing something to him that may or may not have been seen through the darkness.

Nate's face reddened after seeing what Robbie had silently told him, but it was hard to notice since there was hardly any light. "No way; our bet won't even work now since...someone's not here and…" He trailed off, glaring at the dark haired boy. The other members of the group seemed a bit confused, but honestly, they weren't all that interested in whatever it was that the two boys were apparently trying to keep a secret.

"You're just scared of losing, aren't you?" Robbie asked, snickering.

"What? No!" Nate said quickly. He rolled his eyes in irritation and finally came to a decision. There was no way he was letting Robbie talk him down like that in front of the others. Now he _had_ to go through with the real bet. "Fine then, tough guy, challenge accepted!" He announced.

"Dude, no. I never agreed to this! And Tambry probably wants to leave already." Lee argued. He ignored Tambry as she glared fiercely at him. "These teams are hardly fair! Wendy and Robbie won't ever get scared. They'll make us run naked through the town or something..."

Wendy laughed at his comment. "Oh, whatever, man. Me and Robbie aren't as fearless as you seem to think." She said. "Plus, you've got Nate. And your team has more people anyway. You'll be just fine. This bet is stupid anyway."

"Splitting up is seriously like, _the_ worst idea ever." Tambry muttered, shaking her head in disapproval.

"Yeah, see! And you two just wanna be alone so you can make out." Nate agreed, crossing his arms.

"As true as that statement is…" Robbie began.

Wendy grinned and nudged him. "If we really wanted to make out that bad we wouldn't give a crap whether you were here or not, dork." She said with a quick wink. Robbie's cheeks reddened a bit, and he looked over at Nate smugly.

"Alright, fine. Whatever…." Nate sighed.

"Cool. So the bet starts now." Robbie announced, smiling victoriously. "Me and Wendy'll be kissing and whatever over in the West Wing so try not to bother us. We'll see you losers outside."

Nate pretended to gag. "See you lovebirds later. " He muttered, leading his group away.

"Tambry, make sure those two don't get too out of hand." Robbie called jokingly after them as the other group made their way into the darkness and out of sight.

"Huh? Whatever." They heard Tambry mutter in response.

Once the others were out of sight, the couple made no effort to head toward the West Wing.

"So…" Robbie said, nervously scratching the back of his head and glancing around trying to figure out where they were. Thanks to the darkness it was kind of impossible to recognize anything. He knew they were in the newer part of the hospital, but he didn't know exactly where they should be headed in order to get to the West Wing. He guessed west, but he wasn't quite so sure. And asking Wendy was out of the question unless he wanted to make himself seem like a complete idiot. He seemed a lot less sure of himself now that he was alone with her.

"Are we just going to stand here and enjoy each other's company or are we actually gonna do what we said we were going to?" Wendy asked after a moment, sounding a bit hostile all of a sudden.

"What-like make out?" Robbie stuttered, his mind still stuck on the previous conversation.

Wendy laughed. "Dude, I meant going to the older part of this place." She told him. She looked like she was going to add something else, but she kept her mouth shut.

"Riigght." Robbie whispered, feeling his face heat up. "I know. I was just- Let's go."

He began walking off in what he thought was the opposite direction of the other group, only to have Wendy stop him before he had even taken two steps.

"Uh…You do realize you're going the wrong way, right?" She asked, raising an eyebrow at him curiously.

Robbie nodded sheepishly and turned around; jamming his hands in his hoodie pockets in what he hoped would seem like a cool way. "Duh, of course I knew that! I was just seeing if you were paying any attention."

"Right, whatever…" Wendy muttered, sighing and leading him through one of many dimly lit halls.

Robbie could tell that something was not right. He wasn't sure why, but he knew Wendy was not happy with him for whatever reason. And honestly, it kind of worried him. At least, until she suddenly turned around and grabbed his wrist to stop him from walking any further. He couldn't see her very well through the darkness, but he felt her warm breath on his face.

"Dude, did you hear that?" She asked in an almost scared, hushed voice.


	3. Chapter 3: Nursery Rhymes

Nate, Lee, and Tambry trekked down the long, dark hallways in a world of almost absolute blackness and silence. The only light was coming from the exit signs scattered about the place, and the only sound was the echoing of their footsteps on the linoleum floor.

None of them had a clue where they were or where they wanted to go, so they took to mindlessly exploring with Nate at the front of the group. The other two tagged along behind him, scanning their surroundings for signs of anything abnormal.

In and of itself, the hospital wasn't all that creepy. They had been inside millions of times over the years, and until now they never would have thought that the place could potentially be haunted. But now the pure silence, the seemingly endless pitch black hallways, and the urban legends lingering in their minds made the trio more frightened than they'd have liked to admit.

The teens had explored 'haunted' places around the town many times, and they liked to consider themselves as people who weren't easily scared. They had seen ghosts before, and they had lived to tell the tale. After surviving something similar to a horror movie, they thought they would be brave when it came to these sorts of things.

But the tension in the air gave them away. Each of them seemed to be on the edge about something. Maybe it was just the uncomfortable silence, or maybe it was the sudden chill that ran down their spines due to a surprisingly cold gust of air coming from the air vents above.

"Hey Tambry," Nate said, breaking the thick silence that had overtaken the group. "you should find Robbie and Wendy and try to scare them." His face took on a surprisingly serious expression. "We need to win this thing and make Robbie regret being such a jerk."

As he spoke, the group seemed to calm down a bit, glad to have some form of distraction to keep their minds off where they were.

Tambry scoffed at Nate's idea, dismissing it with a roll of her eyes. "Um, as much as I agree with you, there's no way I'm going on my own to find them. It's bad enough being in here with you two." She shook her head and checked her phone for the fifth time that minute, groaning when she found out she still had no service. Without her phone to keep her occupied, she was sure she'd die from boredom before the night was over.

"So, let me get this straight, you're telling me that now _you're_ the one who's scared?" Nate teased, grinning slightly.

Lee elbowed Nate in the ribs to shut him up.

Tambry opened her mouth, no doubt about to make a snide reply, but she decided it wasn't worth it and kept quiet.

There was another brief span of silence, until suddenly a soft, muffled clattering sound came from somewhere ahead of them. Nate and Tambry didn't seem to give it much thought, but Lee instantly flinched as he heard it.

"Guys, did you hear that?" He asked, his voice hushed in sudden fear. The blond boy grabbed at the back of Nate's shirt, as if clinging to him would provide some sort of protection.

"Hear what? All I hear is you being a wimp." Tambry muttered, scowling. "You guys are just trying to freak me out so you can be alone, aren't you?"

Nate rolled his eyes.

"No, no! I'm completely serious; I swear I heard some sort of weird noise!" Lee insisted. Wide eyed, he stared in the direction the noise had come from, no doubt waiting for a masked killer to emerge from the shadows.

"Chill out, Lee. I'm sure it was nothing." Nate reassured him, turning around to give the taller boy a quick pat on the shoulder. "If you weren't imagining things, then it's probably just Robbie trying to freak us out. You know him; he's all about stupid stuff like that."

Lee considered this statement for a moment, but he had his doubts about its truth. He suddenly couldn't shake the thought that something wasn't right about this place. He lingered at Nate's side as the group continued on their way, finding it discomforting that they were going toward the very area the noise had come from.

"Dude, what if it was like, a rat or something? Those things seriously creep me out." Lee whined, trailing after Nate like a puppy. He tried to get his mind off the idea that whatever had made the noise was something more than just a small rodent; but, as much as he hated to admit it to himself, he was almost hoping it had been something paranormal. He wasn't sure why, but honestly, he wasn't as scared as he was nervous and excited. Maybe tonight wouldn't be such a bore after all.

The others, however, hadn't really payed any attention to the noise, and they still thought little of it.

"Lee, I'm sure you were just imagining things." Nate insisted, casually draping his arm over Lee's shoulders in what he hoped would be a manly show of affection. "There's really no need to freak out. If it's a rat or something I'll protect you."

Lee grinned. "Oh whatever…" He laughed.

Tambry looked over at them and pointed her finger down her throat. "Ugh. Why'd I have to get stuck with you guys? This is such a total gag fest." She groaned.

"Shut it, Tambry. I'm just helping my bro Lee here calm himself down." Nate told her, scowling.

Tambry snickered. "Uh-huh. Is that what they call it now?" She asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Wow, seriously? Shut up." Lee mumbled, pushing Nate's arm away and hoping the red hue in his cheeks would be confused for the tint in the light coming from the exit sign behind them. He really wasn't in the mood for Tambry's sarcasm. And now that they were getting even closer to the source of the noise he'd heard, he seemed to tense up again.

"It's not like being with Wendy and Robbie would be much better." Nate told Tambry, continuing their conversation.

Tambry shrugged. "At least they wouldn't be freaking out…" She said, aiming her words at the now-cowering blond haired boy.

"Dude, are you seriously still scared?" Nate asked. He turned his attention back to where they were headed, and then smiled at Lee. "Hey, look, you can calm down. There's a door up here."

"B-but…I think the noise came from behind the door." Lee stammered, his eyebrows knit together in worry.

Tambry sighed melodramatically. "You seriously think this place is haunted?" She asked, seeming amused by the idea.

Lee hesitated, but then he shrugged and continued to cower behind the others.

"And here I was thinking you guys couldn't possibly be any lamer." Tambry sighed.

Nate shot her a glance, and then turned to Lee. "No reason to be scared, guy. We've been in places like these billions of times. And out of all of them, only like, two were haunted. What are the odds that this place is too?"

Lee calmed down slightly after hearing this. "...Yeah, okay, good point." He agreed.

The group continued on for a few more seconds until coming to an abrupt stop in front of the very door Lee least wanted to enter, despite being comforted by Nate.

Tambry held up her cell phone, using the small amount of light it provided to read the sign above the door.

"A maternity ward; how terrifying!" She joked once she'd read it, grinning tauntingly.

Lee scratched the back of his neck sheepishly, slightly embarrassed.

Nate pushed on the door, and then let out a sigh. "Dang, I think it's locked." He announced. He was about to turn around, until Lee, a few feet behind him, happened to notice something.

"Hey…wait. I think this is one of those weird security doors." The blond said, squinting into the darkness at an access intercom on the wall beside the door.

"So it's like, one of those doors you have to press a buzzer thing to get past?" Tambry asked.

Lee shrugged. "Yeah, guess so...Hey Nate, think we can get past it?" He asked. Though he wasn't as afraid as he had been before, he secretly hoped the answer would be no.

"Well, there's only one way to find out." Nate replied. He shrugged, pressed the button on the intercom, and a few seconds later pushed on the door.

After finding that it was still locked he tried pushing it harder, but the door still wouldn't budge.

"Great. Guess we can just turn around and leave, then." Tambry said, her tone unreadable.

Lee shrugged. "Or we could explore other parts of the building..." He suggested.

"There's no way we're letting Robbie win." Nate agreed, nodding.

Tambry groaned. "This bet is so stupid…" She muttered.

"Pfft-whatever." Nate said, turning to walk in the opposite direction. "You don't even know half of it…" He added under his breath.

Suddenly, just as they began to walk away, they heard a quiet clicking noise.

Lee glanced over at Nate, and then slowly turned back around.

The door to the maternity ward had begun to swing open, creaking as it did, and the trio let out a collective gasp at the sight.

After his initial surprise, Nate grinned fearlessly. "Ha-Hey, guess it worked after all!" He cheered.

Lee looked hesitant. "Okay...that's kinda creepy." He mumbled, shaking his head, his fear suddenly returning.

"Seriously. Who could have let us in? This makes like, no sense…" Tambry agreed.

Nate sighed. "Aw, c'mon guys. It's nothing! I'm sure it's just an automated thing." He told them. "Let's go."

Tambry laughed. "Ha-no way I'm going in there. I'll see you two idiots later." She shook her head in disapproval and leaned against the wall, staring at her phone's blank screen. "Good luck not dying."

Lee couldn't seem to match Nate's enthusiasm either. "Dude, you're like that guy in horror movies who's all like, 'I just moved into a house that might be haunted. Wonder what that noise is. Let's go check it out!' and then gets murdered." He frowned. "Don't be that guy."

"Oh, whatever, man." Nate laughed, waving his hand dismissively. "This isn't a horror movie. We'll be fine! Promise." With that, he disappeared, walking through the door and into the great, dark unknown.

The blond stared at the open door contemplatively for a while, and soon came to the conclusion that going anywhere with Nate would be better than staying here with sarcastic and phoneless Tambry. He ran after his friend and into the maternity ward, looking around worriedly.

Nate turned around at the sound of his footsteps. "Hey, look who finally decided to join me! I don't see your killer rat anywhere." He said, smiling.

Lee smiled back, but he didn't seem to be quite as amused.

They stayed near the main desk for a few moments and studied their surroundings, and Lee found that they didn't prove to be even half as frightening as he had expected. Everything was pastel in color and smelled faintly of baby wipes and disinfectant, making it seem rather silly to be afraid, despite the darkness.

"Man, it's kinda lame in here..." Nate chuckled. "No point being scared now, right?"

Lee nodded in agreement and let out a sigh of relief, finally managing to ditch his fright.

"So, you kinda glad Tambry stayed behind?" Nate asked suddenly, turning to him and grinning.

Lee shrugged. "Well...yeah, I guess. She was sorta being a jerk."

"Uh-I can still hear you!" Tambry called from the doorway.

The boys' eyes widened as they heard her voice, and Nate struggled to contain his laughter.

"We're just messing, Tambry. You know that." He told her. "Whoops." He added quietly, smiling at Lee.

Lee grinned. "Dude-" He began.

But before he could finish his sentence, he was cut off by a once adorable sound gone chilling.

A high pitched, music box type version of 'Rock-a-Bye Baby', played whenever a baby was born in the hospital, began to play over the intercom system.

"…_What the heck_?" Nate breathed.


End file.
